Method and apparatus for transacting legal documents

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to the compiling, transacting and dissemination of legal and associated documents. In one example embodiment, the present invention relates to the handling of documentation associated with Real Estate and Legal industries. In another example embodiment, the present invention relates to conveyancing and the publishing of documentation for viewing by Estate Agents, Lawyers and members of the public such as Prospective buyers. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to on-line publishing of those documents to enable contract preparation. In a still other embodiment, the present invention relates to execution of contracts on-line, and authentication thereof via digital certificates or other suitable secure means.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the compiling, transacting anddissemination of legal and associated documents. In one exampleembodiment, the present invention relates to the handling ofdocumentation associated with Real Estate and Legal industries. In aspecific example embodiment, the present invention relates toconveyancing and the publishing on the internet of documentation forviewing by Estate Agents, Lawyers and members of the public such asProspective buyers. In another embodiment, the present invention relatesto on-line publishing of those documents to enable contract preparation.In a still other embodiment, the present invention relates to executionof contracts online, and authentication thereof via digital certificatesor other suitable secure means.

BACKGROUND ART

The production of legal documentation for the sale of property has ingeneral been paper based. This documentation includes the production ofa contract and disclosure documentation to comply with the relevantproperty legislation (“contract documentation”). The contractdocumentation is generally passed onto an Estate Agent who markets theproperty by auction or private sale and negotiates the contract of salebetween the Vendor and the Prospect. The contract is passed back to theVendor's Lawyer and sent to the Prospect's Lawyer to complete theconveyancing and transfer of title.

For a Lawyer or conveyancer to produce contract documentation, forexample in the State of Victoria. Australia and with a full set of titleinformation and Property Information does require the collection,collation and compilation of up to 30 individual documents and then tophotocopy and reproduce the contract documentation up to five times fordelivery to the Agent in readiness for an auction or sale by privatetreaty.

It is considered generally inconvenient that the current system isheavily paper based. All documentation prepared by the Lawyer iscollected, photocopied, printed, collated, bound and delivered to theAgent by post, facsimile or courier. This is considered costly and timeconsuming.

A problem as yet unfulfilled by the prior art is a lack of timeliness inthe supply of Property Information and Contrast Documentation to theAgent and Prospective buyer. There are at least four main players in asale process of a properly. Each player has their own agenda mostlydriven by economic factors.

A. The Vendor. The Vendor wants to maximize number of prospects tosecure a high sale price and certainty of settlement for the property.The unavailability of Property Information reduces number of seriousprospects and this may reflect on the end sale price.

B. The Lawyer: Prepares documentation necessary to effect sale of realestate, and prepares documentation to effect changes of title in realestate and lodges them with the relevant government authorities. Otherparties, known as Conveyancers, who are not Lawyers, also preparedocumentation to effect changes in title in real estate and lodges themwith the relevant government authorities. The term Lawyer is usedinterchangeably with the term Conveyancer herein. Lawyers are notcommission driven, relying upon a flat fee, and thus cost efficiencies,the speed of the transaction, the volume of the transaction, minimizingthe cost of transaction and spending as little time and effort aspossible in attending to necessities in conducting the conveyance areconsidered to be a driver of the Lawyer. It has been observed thatLawyers tend to delay delivery of Property Information and contracts toprevent the replication of work due to Agents requiring multiple copiesfor any transaction.

C. The Agent: The Agent may be a Real Estate Agent or parties whoprovide property Information on the Internet on behalf of Real EstateAgents, such as: <www.realestate.com.au> <www.domain.com.au><www.realestateview.com.au> <www.property.com.au>

It is considered that Agents, being commission driven are generally notmotivated to obtain Property Information themselves and consider it afunction of the Lawyers and conveyancers. The Agents however desireProperty Information as a marketing tool. Hence the Agents requireLawyers to provide them with Property Information and pass on the costs.

The Agent seeks to optimise commission from the sale and volume of thetransaction, speed of concluding a transaction and maximising andqualifying the number of prospects. The Agent wants documentation asearly as possible in the selling cycle to distribute to Prospectivebuyers. Typically contract documentation is delivered to the Agent inthe week prior to the Auction or in response to an urgent demand orappeal made by the Agent to the Lawyer. Requests for copies of contractdocumentation are made by Prospective buyers to undertake their duediligence and the Agents have to make additional copies fordissemination to the Prospective buyers of the property. Generally,Lawyers do not deliver contract documentation or part thereof in atimely fashion for a variety of reasons, and this causes the Agentsconcern as they may be at risk of losing a genuine buyer because of thedelays in a Lawyers delivery of contract documentation.

D. Prospective buyers: Prospective buyers tend to want PropertyInformation and Contract Documentation to satisfy their due diligenceand to possibly arrange finance in advance. This is not, satisfactorilyattended to now.

Often, the Prospective buyer cannot view contract documentation in atimely manner. If they could, it would be considered to greatly assistin completing their due diligence of the property. Prospective buyersare interested in inspection, finance and due diligence in a timelyfashion. They generally want to be able to view the contractdocumentation to determine measurements of the property, covenants &easements, planning, outgoings and any other information that can or mayassist in the negotiation of price in their favour. Timely provision ofcontract documentation can thus assist this process to enable theProspective buyer to make an offer and if possible seal an agreement topurchase.

E. Financial Institutions: Financial Institutions (FI) provide financeto Prospective buyers. FIs want Property Information and ContractDocumentation to prepare mortgage security documentation, undertakevaluations of the security properly, to check matters such as planninginformation, to be sure there are no outstanding levies on the Propertyand to ensure that the FI's security position is in order. Under theexisting paper based system the FI has to obtain such information fromthe Purchaser or their Conveyancer and undertake their own independentsearches.

The timely provision of contract documentation will assist the FI tohave the same unfettered access as Prospective buyers. Also giving FIsaccess to digitally certified and authenticated electronic contractdocuments will enable them to prepare security documentation, undertakevaluations and to check the Property Information for outstanding levies.

In the past, some advances have been made in the ordering and deliveryof Property Information from a paper based postal system, tocertificates being faxed. Recently Property Information can be nowordered online and delivered by service providers to the Lawyers byemail. Nonetheless, the Lawyer still needs to obtain, collate andproduce the contract and this is largely paper and labour intensive innature and thereby considered relatively costly.

One prior art attempt is referred to as “CITEC CONFIRM” which isprovided via the State of Queensland, Australia, the details of whichare available at the time of wring at:

http://www.confirm.cltec.com.au/index.html

In this model, as exemplified schematically in FIG. 1, the majority ofinformation is government information. In the past, documentation had tobe ordered from information providers 100, such as various governingauthorities, using paper forms 101, which was time consuming and thuscostly. CITEC provided documents in electronic format which resulted inincreased speed. But the disadvantage was that documents consisting ofmultiple pages 102 to 102 n were being produced as multiple files. ALawyer 103 receiving multiple files would still have to prepare thevarious other forms and documents in a paper based format. The Figurealso shows a number of similar Information Providers 100, such as‘Anstat’ and ‘Legalco’ who provide documents within the State ofVictoria, Australia.

Another prior art attempt (not shown) provides the contract informationas a single file of about 2 MB In size which meant the time to downloadsuch a file via a 56K modem would take a number of minutes. It isconsidered that this is too time-consuming, especially for peopleconnected to the Internet, and thus the downloading of such big filestends to be done by those who have access to broadband cable technology.However, this is not widely accessible in more remote areas.

Still another prior art attempt is referred to as ElectronicConveyancing Victoria (ECV). FIG. 2 schematically represents this model.In FIG. 2, ECV 200 attends to the whole of the conveyancing processsubsequent to the sale of a property, such as between lenders 201,mortgagee 202, and government authorities 203. The ECV model isconsidered to focus more on the recordal of a sale and related moneytransactions, rather than the initial sale preparation.

Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in thisspecification is included to explain the context of the invention. Itshould not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms apart of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in therelevant art in Australia or elsewhere on or before the priority date ofthe disclosure and claims herein.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides, in one aspect, a method of makingavailable information, including documents, relating to the legal and/orreal estate industries for viewing and/or printing via the internet, themethod including the steps of obtaining information relating to aproperty in an electronic format, providing the information at a firstlocation, providing a hyperlink for the information between the firstlocation and a second location, wherein the first location is a databaseor hoist website and the second location is an Agent's website.

Preferably, the present invention brings together disparate informationin an electronic format from various sources, inserts it into a databaseand then automatically publishes them together on a host web page forpublic inspection. The hyperlink can be provided by various commonlyavailable software packages.

Preferably, the present provides the creation of a database containingProperty Information in respect to real estate. The database may berelational or centralised.

Preferably, the Property Information may consist of

-   a. Property Profile: the property details are disclosed herein and    are listed in FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C.-   b. Contract Documentation, such as Property Information, Contract of    Sale and Vendor legal Documents. Property Information may include    the documents 21 to 39 on FIG. 8. Contract of Sale may include the    document 11 to 20 of FIG. 8. Vendor Legal Documents may include the    documents 40 to 49 on FIG. 8.

Preferably, the present invention provides for publication of, andaccess to, Property Information from a webpage by way of hyperlink(s) toa Database or other location where the Property Information resides. Thehyperlink may describe the type of Property Information ft providesaccess to.

Preferably, the Property Information will be published on a web-page(identified with the Lawyer) accessed via the Agents website for 24hours a day 7 days a week viewing or printing by the Agent, Lawyer,Vendor, Prospective buyer, Purchaser's Lawyer and FinancialInstitutions.

Preferably, to view the Property Information on the webpage aprospective purchaser as a precondition must sign a Guestbook givingname, email and contact details which can or may be passed back to theAgent.

Preferably, the Property Information can be published in whole or inpart with the Lawyer's authorization (or not published for publicviewing until the Lawyer is satisfied it is ready to be published).

The present invention provides, in a second aspect, a method of andapparatus for uploading information, including documents, relating tothe real estate or legal industries to a database, the method includingthe step of assigning at least one unique code to each information,where at least one code identifies the property and the type ofinformation.

Preferably, upon uploading of Property information into the Database,unique codes are assigned to each document (codes may be Internetmetatags or alpha/numeric codes; code assignment may be automaticallygenerated by computer software or done manually) which identifies theproperty and the specific type of Property Information.

Preferably, the host of the Lawyers, Website can provide a total printsolution for the Contract Documentation to the Lawyer and the Agent.When the Contract Documents are published on the Property Webpage, theymay appear in a very specific order, first, the Contract Documents.11-19, secondly, the Property Information documents 21-39, and thirdly,the Legal Documents 40-49 all identified in FIG. 8. This is the typicalorder that Property Contracts are collated. In publishing the documentsin this order it becomes possible to provide a technical solution toprinting the Contract Documentation in this Order by a single command(provided all the requisite documents have been uploaded). This solutionmay be provided as a bureau service to the Lawyer and the Agent.

Preferably, the present invention (a) gathers all separate and disparatedocuments into a database, (b) extracts only the relevant documents thatare associated with that property, (c) has them sorted into the correctorder, (d) merged into a single file, and (e) then printing all by asingle command.

Preferably, the Property Information will be displayed In an orderedmanner to reflect the same order that a Lawyer would typically createand collate Contract or Auction documentation.

The present invention provides, in a third aspect, a method of editinglegal or real estate information, the method including the steps ofproviding the information as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in a first PDFform, inputting data to a data processing system, and using PDF and FDFtechnology to import the data into the first PDF form to create a secondPDF form.

Preferably, digital verification is provided to the second PDF form. Thepresent invention provides, in a fourth aspect, a webpage and a methodof generating a webpage relating to the legal or real estate industries,the webpage including property Information, Agent information, andreference to at least one property document.

Preferably, a checklist is published on the Website to indicate whetheran individual Property Information document is supplied, to be supplied,not required, not applicable or on order but not yet available. TheProperty Database may contain a checklist for all possible PropertyInformation documents that may be associated for any property. TheLawyer, when adding the details of the Vendors may update the checklist.As Property Information documents are uploaded into the PropertyDatabase the checklist may be updated either automatically or manually.The checklist status that may be displayed on the Property webpage asviewed by the public and may mirror the checklist on the PropertyDatabase.

Preferably, when the Lawyer adds the details of a Vendors Property thatincludes the Agent's details, the unique hyperlink to the 247 Webage 162may be automatically generated and then be emailed to the Agent. TheAgent may manually insert the hyperlink onto the Agent's Propertywebpage.

Further aspects of invention relate to online recording of changes ofinterest in land or real estate, and/or online payment of governmentlevies or taxes.

Throughout the present specification, reference to ‘PDF’ means AdobeAcrobat Portable Document Format or other similar document formattingsoftware tools, and reference to. ‘FDF’ means Adobe Acrobat FormDocument Format or other similar document formatting software tools thatallows importing data into a PDF-type document.

There are a number of advantages identifiable with the presentinvention, such as:

-   1. The bringing together of disparate infiltration in an electronic    format from various sources,-   2. inserting it into a computer database-   3. publishing them together on a host web page-   4. accessing of the Property Information from the host webpage via a    hyperlink to the database where the Property Information resides-   5. checklist published on the web page showing clearly what Property    Information documents are supplied, to be supplied or not to be    supplied but viewer to make own inquiries-   6. with a hyperlink between the Agents web page and the host web    page for the Property Information with a compulsory guestbook-   7. single repository for all those documents, converted into a    common document format base, for example, Adobe Acrobat PDF format,    sorted and merged with an ability to enter and merge data into the    documents, using, for example, Adobe Acrobat FDF format, and to    print such documents-   8. cost and time effective over existing methodologies-   9. facilitating on-line changes of interests in real estate and/or    on-line payment of government levies or taxes

The present invention is considered to provide a meaningful solution forthe Lawyer's client who is the Vendor. The Vendor who is selling theirproperty wants to achieve the best price for their property. The Vendorhas engaged an estate Agent to market and sell their property for thebest possible price. Certain Australian real property legislationrequires that the Vendor must provide a disclosure statement and thatthe contract must be in writing. As described beforehand supply of thatinformation has been only been available in and supplied via a paperbased format by the Lawyer for the Vendor who has not delivered theProperty Information in a timely fashion. This invention provides forthe timely provision of the Property Information in part or in whole.

It is important from the Agents' perspective to have the quickest andbest access to the Property Information. This invention can deliver theProperty information in a timely fashion which can be viewed byProspective buyers 24 hours a day, seven days a week by simply followingthe link from the Agent's webpage to the host webpage for the PropertyInformation.

The Prospective buyers can complete their due diligence on looking atproperties they may be interested in buying instantly from anywhere inthe world via the Internet Prospective buyers want to be able to inspectthe title information, plans, planning information, property outgoingsand any other pertinent information on demand instead of pursuing theAgent for such information who is, in turn, pursuing the Lawyer for suchInformation.

Agents want to know who is interested in buying the property and one oftheir main tools is when a prospect asks to inspect the PropertyInformation. This invention compels or may compel the Prospective buyerto sign a guestbook in order to gain access to the contract documents onthe 247 Website 162 and their details can then be provided to the Agent.

Lawyers understand that a major overhead in the office is the time andcost of collecting, collation and reproducing the Property Informationfor the Agents. This invention will reduce the Lawyers overheads becauseof the reduction of reliance of paper and printing as the information isavailable on the website for Agents to print them themselves.

Agents will have earlier access to Property Information which is whatthey have always wanted but has never been delivered in a timelyfashion. The Agents overheads, too, will be reduced as now they candirect prospects to view the Property Information online instead of theprinting and reproduction and physical dissemination of PropertyInformation.

Other aspects and preferred aspects are disclosed in the specificationand/or defined in the appended claims, forming a part of the descriptionof the invention.

In essence, the present invention enables the production of a Vendor'sProperty information without using the photocopier or other paper basedforms of media. The problem faced in the past has been the heavyreliance on paper collection collation and reproduction which heavilyrelied on photocopiers being costly and time consuming. Realising thatdocumentation can be stored on the hard drive of a personal computer ormainframe computer (say in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) led to the idea ofintegrating those documents into a database that can then be parsed intoa webpage viewable online, downloaded and printed at, the location ofthe person seeking the information.

This realisation, coupled with providing a repository fordocumentation/information, such as the various property information anddocuments, as well as property details and Agent details enables thebenefits of the present invention to be realised.

A further enhancement is the use of FDF technology in association withdocumentation related to property transactions. This enables data to beimported into PDF documents, and thus enables PDF documents, and thelike, to be integrated with existing office and legal management systemswhich facilitate the preparation of the various documents necessary to areal estate transaction.

A still further enhancement is the use of digital signatures to enableall parties to execute legal documents and to enable property and/ormonetary transfers.

There is also a significant demand for this invention. Prospectivebuyers are doing more of their research online from their home andoffice and will enthuse to the possibility of viewing contractualdocumentation before they make a decision to make an offer to buy.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further disclosure, objects, advantages and aspects of the presentapplication, may be better understood by those skilled in the relevantart by reference to the following description of preferred embodimentstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a prior art model for seekingdocuments,

FIG. 2 illustrates another prior art model referred to as ECV,

FIG. 3 illustrates an overview of an embodiment and a number ofinventive aspects disclosed herein,

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically one embodiment of the presentinvention,

FIG. 5 illustrates schematically an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention referred to as “the MiniPaK” model,

FIG. 6 illustrates schematically the present invention in more detailparticularly the relational database model,

FIG. 7 illustrates schematically a Prospect Flow chart for accessingcertificates,

FIG. 8 illustrates schematically an example of Document Codes,

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C illustrate schematically an example of a Lawyers'Property Profile Database for use with the present invention, and

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate schematically an example of a 247 Website162 web page in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference throughout the specification to ‘247’ is a reference to anembodiment of the present invention.

Overview

FIG. 3 illustrates an overall view of a number of aspects of invention,and one embodiment of the present invention.

There are 3 phases described. The first phase relates to collecting andsourcing information and making it available in a format suitable foron-line display. The second phase relates to completing and publishingof Property information which are available online. The third phaserelates to (on-line) transaction or settlement of property in conclusionof the property transaction. There are a number of aspects with regardto completing of the documents, and verification and authenticationrelated to the embodiment disclosed, which will be explained more fullyherein.

In Brief: Phase 1 Realtor

The realtor phase can be made available as a stand alone product for thesale of a suite of Property Information to Agents for online publicationon the internet. Prospects will have 24 hours a day 7 days a week accessto the certificates via the Agent's website or through the propertyportals that the Agent uses to market the property on the Internet. TheConveyancer/Lawyer for the Vendor will not have to reorder thecertificates, as they will be able to download the certificates(bundled) for free to be incorporated into the Contract documents.

This aspect may have timely delivery of title searches and Propertyinformation; published on the internet on or before the Agent has thesale board up on the property; the capturing of Prospect registrations;and web hit statistics and reports fed back to the Agent.

In Brief: Phase 2—Lawyer

The Lawyer phase introduces Conveyancers as well as the online DocumentManagement System (DMS). It is during this phase that all legaldocuments are published online via DMS. All legal documents may Includethe Contract, Disclosure Statement, title and Property information andall other Vendor legal documents, as are required by the Law of theparticular jurisdiction where the properly is located. FDF may be usedto import, complete and amend information, and amend documents providedin PDF format. Other suitable document technologies/software may be usedto iteratively complete and amend documentation.

This phase may interface with existing legal documentation officeautomation systems, such as that provided by companies like LawPerfect.LawPerfect is one provider of desktop legal software to Lawyers andConveyancers.

There is considered to be many benefit to Conveyancers and Lawyers inthe use of DMS, such as the automation of flexibility of DMS itself, aswell as the networking opportunities to generate file referrals fromAgents and client referrals to Agents. Some Infrastructure is necessaryin terms of database, hardware, hosting and bandwidth. DMS alsofacilitates the production of contractual documents relating to the saleof real estate, by automatically collating the Contract documentationprior to their printing without the need for the Lawyer to do so,thereby saving time hereinafter referred to as the Print Solution.

Phase 2—Further Enhancement

The Print Solution for Agents and Conveyancers. Once the merged Contracthas been prepared and certified by the Lawyer or Conveyancer, the Agentwill receive a notification that it is ready for download. When theAgent proceeds to download the merged Contract, a pop up window willgive the Agent an option to purchase a hard paper copy of the Contractand Property Information.

The pop up will have, for example:

-   -   Size of file    -   Number of pages    -   Warning that it is a large file    -   Notice that a Print Solution is available    -   Their local Print Franchise can print & deliver X copies in        colour or B&W for $Y each    -   Or even have the Print Solution burnt onto CD's with labels        In Brief: Phase 3—Electronic Conveyancing (EC)

ECLX is the Victorian state government Instrumentality responsible forintroducing a system of effecting of electron online settlements,transfer of title and payments system which it proposes to do byreceiving from Vendors and Purchasers electronic ‘data packets’, theinformation required to effect the recordal of a change of ownership ofreal property in Victoria. This system is referred to herein as EC.

The present invention can effectively deliver 2 EC compliantLawyers/Conveyancers to EC. EC needs 2 EC compliant Lawyers/Conveyancersfor their system to function. If one Lawyer/Conveyancer is not ECcompliant they need to fall back to the paper based system. If the Agentcan refer a Prospect to use a Lawyer/Conveyancer who Uses the invention,then the invention can deliver 2 EC compliant Lawyers/Conveyancers.

The data packet required by EC to effect the recording of transfers oftitle in real estate, electronically, will essentially be complete afterthe Agent fills in the missing data, i.e. Prospect, price, contract dateand settlement date and Prospects Lawyer. The Prospects Lawyer can logonto to 247 and the Lawyers of the Prospect and Vendor complete theproperty data packet for any missing information, certify the datapacket and send it EC for entry into the Register of Titles. The datapacket can be re-authenticated in the EC system.

The Invention also effects the generation of electronic PDF contractsthrough the online DMS. The invention compiles a single PDF file thatcomprises the Contract, Vendors Statement Title Search, PlanSubdivision, Property information and other documents as required. Thecompiled PDF Contract can be digitally signed and certified by theVendor's Lawyer. The Lawyer will be an Adobe digital signature holder.As the Contract is interactive it can be completed online by the Agentand saved. The Contract can be digitally signed and certified by theAgent. The Purchaser's Lawyer, also, can endorse the contract as trueand correct As many digital signatures can be added to authenticate thecontract.

Financial Institutions (FI) may also want to use the invention. ThePurchaser's Lawyer can add the FI as the finance member of the PropertyProfile.

This will entitle the FI to download the digitally signed and certifiedcontract. The FI will also have access to the individual title andProperty Information.

Phase 1—Detail

One example embodiment of the present invention relates to the sale ofreal estate comprised of securing of government informationelectronically and information created electronically by the Vendor andthe Vendor's Lawyer, legally required to effect the sale, forpublication on websites thus enabling public Inspection by prospectivepurchasers.

Referring to FIG. 4, there are a number of entities which inter-relateto transact a property sale, namely, the Vendor (100), the Property(101), the Agent (110), the Lawyer (120), the Prospect (130), theProspects Lawyer (140), the Information Provider (150), 247legal.com.au(160) and Financial Institutions (175) which represents one part of thepresent invention.

It commences with the Vendor 100 who wants to sell their property 101.The Vendor 100 engages the Agent 110 to sell the property and retains aLawyer or Conveyancer 120 to act on their behalf. The two main playersare the Vendor 100 and the Prospect 130 (who will be the ultimateBuyer). In between are the Agent 110, the Lawyers 120 and theInformation Providers 150 Financial Institutions 180 and now247legal.com.au 160

The Vendor 100

The Vendor having engaged the Agent to sell the Property will retain aLawyer/Conveyancer to act on their behalf.

The Vendor is the Owner of the Property 101. Their desire is usually toobtain as much money as possible for their property and to secure thesettlement. This is achieved by maximizing the number of prospects 130to acquire the property 101.

The Property 101

The Property may be residential, commercial, industrial, rural, vacantland an apartment or any other type of real estate.

In Victoria, Property under the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Victoria) isdefined as follows:

“land” includes land of any tenure, and buildings or parts of buildings(whether the division is horizontal, vertical or made in any other way)and other corporeal hereditaments; and also an undivided share in landand any estate or interest in land.

Property is not a commodity. Property is regulated as to how and what itcan be used for and its use is restricted by the local Planning andZoning regulations. Property is taxed and is affected by council andwater levies. It can attract land tax. It might be affected by a bodycorporate. The Property may be leased. The Buildings on the Property maybe classified by the National Trust. The Property may be affected by, aroad widening proposal or subject to contamination, or be in a land slipareas subject to, flooding or have had land fill. This list is notexhaustive.

Much of the above can be determined by inspection. Each state inAustralia has its own Property legislation and in Victoria for examplethe Vendor must provide a disclosure statement or Vendor's Statement.The Vendor is obligated to provide certain statutory informationregarding the Property before a legally binding contract can be made.

The Agent 110

The Agent (real estate agent) acts for the Vendor for the marketing andnegotiation of the sale of the Property. The Agent may also use an Agentto assist in the promotion of the property on the internet via suchintermediaries such as www.realestate.com.au or www.property.com.au

The Agent liaises with the Prospects and keeps the Vendor informed as tothe extent of interest expressed by Prospects, feedback and to conveyany offers.

The Agent and the Vendor set a marketing program and budget which coversclassified advertising, brochures, floor plans, display board, magazineand website.

The Agent also uses the Property Information ((151)-(154)) as amarketing tool.

The Property Information are, for example, the title and propertyinformation that state Government and Statutory authorities have thataffect every Property and contains Important Information such as thecertificate of title, the plan of subdivision, any encumbrances such ascovenants or easements, planning information, council and water levies,land tax, building and occupancy permits, contamination etc. PropertyInformation are typically obtained from intermediaries described asInformation Providers (150) but they can be obtained direct from theGovernment and Statutory authorities by application and payment of afee. The Property Information allows the Prospects to do their duediligence on the Property. Title information allows the Prospect toidentify the Property, conduct a survey of the measurements and assessthe potential for development. The title will also disclose allregistered easements, covenants, mortgages and caveats. Planninginformation discloses the zoning and enabling determination as towhether the current use is legal or what the alternate use the Propertycan be put to in future. The Prospect wants to know what the currentoutgoings and levies appertain the Property. Does the Property have acontamination order? What are the body corporate levies or regulations?Are there any outstanding orders or arrears of land tax, council orwater rates?

The Agent can use the Property Information 151-154 as a marketing toolas they answer many of the myriad questions prospects have.

For reasons of cost and efficiency the Agent gets the Vendors Lawyer toobtain the Property Information.

The Agent is relatively commission driven. When the Agent sets amarketing budget the obtaining of Property Information is left to theLawyer and it is seen as a legal function. The standing status quo isthe Lawyer applies for the Property Information on the Vendor's behalfand provides the Property Information with the legal and contractualdocumentation.

The Lawyer 120

The Vendor engages the Lawyer or Conveyancer to act on their behalf andprepare the documentation as required to effect a disposal of theproperty and to provide legal counsel. Herein Lawyer shall also beinterchangeably used with Conveyancer.

There are many steps to take in the sale process. The Lawyer starts bytaking detailed instructions from the Vendor regarding the Property andthen, for example:

-   -   Ascertains the title information such as the Lot/Plan and/or        Volume/Folio    -   Orders the Property Information from a Information Provider        (150)    -   Collects from the Vendor other property information such as any        Lease, building information and body corporate information    -   Prepares the Contract of Sale and Vendors Statement    -   Collates the Property Information, other Information from the        Vendor and the Contract of Sale & Vendors Statement (hereinafter        referred to as the Contract Documentation)    -   Makes multiple copies of the Contract Documentation    -   Couriers or delivers the Contract Documentation to the Agent.        The above describes a Pre-Contractual process.

The Agent will often request copies of the Property Information beforethe Lawyer has completed the Contract Documentation which for the Lawyermeans duplication of his job. The Lawyer's problem is that his fee isoften fixed and therefore any additional work is not being compensated.Because the Lawyer receives a flat fee for acting for a Vendor they wishto expend as little as time and energy in preparing contracts andobtaining Property Information. Lawyers are also relatively volumedriven.

Although it does vary from Country to Country and region to region, inthe state of Victoria, Australia, to effect a sale, the Vendor producesa Vendors Statement which discloses certain information on the property,which includes in it the Property Information.

If the Lawyer fails to supply all the Information required to besupplied in the statements or certificates required to be given by thissection, the Prospect may rescind any contract for the sale of the landwhich has been entered into on the basis of that information at any timebefore title is accepted and therefore becomes entitled to possession orto the receipt of rents and profits, as is defined by the relevant Laws,such as section 32(5) Sale of Land Act (Victoria).

The Prospect 130

For any Property there is only one Buyer but usually more than oneProspect. Prospects are potential buyers. The Prospect may be acting asan Agent for others.

The Prospect searches out properties that they are interested in buying.In being faced with those options they will research the likelyvaluation for that Property. What are the land measurements or how manysquare metres is the apartment? The size of the property will be a gaugeof the property valuation on a dollar per square metro basis andprovides a comparion bench mark with similar properties that have beensold. They will want to know much of the information that is presentedwithin the Property Information such as government charges appertainingto the Property and the planning information. This process is the duediligence that every Prospect should or does conduct. (“due diligence”)The prospect may need to arrange finance and the FI and its valuers willwant the information contained in the Property Information.

The Prospect is the party potentially making the greatest commitmentsboth financially and legally. Consequently, the Property informationinspection is an integral part of the due diligence by any Prospect.

The Prospect's Lawyer 140

The Prospect can request his Lawyer to view the Property Information andto give advice on any matter or concern the Prospect has before an offerto purchase is made.

The Prospect's Lawyer may actually make Inquiries on behalf of theProspect. To give counsel to a Prospect before they buy it would be agreat advantage to have ready access to the Contract Documents. Viewingthe Property Information and to advise on the Title and PlanningInformation and any other available legal information as well as theContract requires this information can be provided in a timely fashionwhich it often is not, frequently not provided until the day before theAuction, is there a better system?

The Information Provider 150

The Information Provider's may be any source, such as for example in theState of Victoria, Australia, commercial organizations such as Legalco,CITEC and Anstat commercially supply the Properly Information in anelectronic form to the Lawyer ordering the Property Information via theInternet and the Information Provider delivering the PropertyInformation by email in, for example, Adobe, Acrobat PDF format (151)(152), (153) & (164) in a timely fashion.

The information Provider acts as an Intermediary between the originatorof the Property Information (eg Titles Office & local councils) andthose who wish to obtain them, acting as a single commercial repositoryfor obtaining Property Information.

The Information Provider does not publish any Property Information onthe Internet for public access. Rather, they only supply PropertyInformation directly to those who order and pay for them.

247legal.com.au—Property Database 161

The present invention, referred to as 247 Webserver 162, may be awebsite where Property Information is published.

The Property Database 161 resides on the 247 Webserver 162. The Databaseis made up of, for example, four databases, such as Agent General 171,Lawyer General 172, Property details 173. Lawyers Documents 174, andFinancial Institutions 175 as illustrated in FIG. 6.

The information contained in the Property Database 161 is published in adynamic manner, by way of a webpage on the 247 Webserver 162. Therendering of the webpage to display the Property Information for theProperty is dynamic. It is not static. As various components of theProperty Information are logged into the Property-Database 161 these areviewable anytime a Prospect requests to view the Property Informationfor the Property.

Any Lawyer, Agent or Conveyancer can log onto the 247 Webserver 162 viaany Internet web browser, to update their details contained in theProperty Database 161, such as address, telephone, email, employees,logo etc.

At any time they, the Vendors Lawyer, Agent or Conveyancer may add aProperty and its details. The typical details for the Property will beUnit no., Street No.; Street Address; Suburb; Postcode; Municipality;Lot Number; Plan Subdivision; Title details (Victoria its isVolume/Folio or Lot/Plan); as well as the Vendor's details; Vendor'sLawyer's details or the Agent's details, such addresses, telephone andfacsimile numbers, email addresses, and company logos.

At the same time a Property and its details is added into the PropertyDatabase 161 a unique property code is created (based on the Lot Plannumbers) by the software which also creates the Property webpage whichwill reside on 247legal.com.au's webserver 162. The unique Property Codeis embedded into the Property webpage as its webpage Identifier. Thewebpage identifier is emailed to the Agent as a hyperlink for inclusionon the Agents website 115. The hyperlink can be created by any knownmeans, Including available software packages. The coding facilitates thecreation of the webpage and the cross referencing of the PropertyInformation to the correct Property. The hyperlink also facilitates thereferencing of the Vender, Agent and Vendors Lawyer and PropertyInformation and other information.

The Vendor's Lawyer then uploads the Property Information 151-154 viatheir web browser. The Vendors Lawyer will during the course of theconveyancing process:

-   -   Order Property Information 151-154 from the Information Provider        150. The Information Provider will email the Property        Information back to the Vendor's Lawyer as PDF files    -   Collect other Vendor Legal Documents 102-106 from the Vendor or        third parties. These documents such as Leases, building        warranties, body corporate certificates and building condition        survey report. The Vendor's Lawyer then scans and converts the        documents into an electronic format, or else faxes them to the        Property Database 161 via the 247 Website 162 which has software        to convert the documents Into an electronic format. The Vendor's        Lawyer can log onto the Property Database and then tag the faxed        documents which are now in the correct format for viewing; and    -   Create the Contract Documents 121-125 typically In Microsoft        Word format and then convert to an electronic formatting using        appropriate software.

Alternatively, or in combination, the DMS of the present invention maybe used. The DMS has considerably refined this process. DMS fixes thispart by Word does automatically converted into PDF format.

The Property Information 115-154 can be uploaded to the PropertyDatabase 161. Each Property Information Document will, be tagged withmetadata that will relate that Property Information Document to theProperty and describe the type of Property Information Document. FIG. 8illustrates an example of tagging codes. The numbering of the tags alsoenables the whole contract and legal documents to be printedsequentially as if it is one document when requested. This enablesanyone to obtain a copy of the documents available in an intelligibleorder. In the tagging process, the Lawyer will select “the Property” and“the Property information type” and to upload select “Insert Document”whereby the Property Information Document will be uploaded onto theProperty Database 161.

There will also be a Document Checklist 126 on the Property Database sothe Lawyer can track which Property Information Documents are “Linked”“On Order”; “Not being supplied”; “Not Applicable”. FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C,10A and 10B give more details.

The Checklist is an important tool to the Vendor's Lawyer as well as forall the other parties;

The Vendor's Lawyer can track which documents are and which documentswon't form part of the total Property Information. The Vendors Lawyercan then track whether all the documents have been obtained or whetherany still remain outstanding. Documents are either: applicable and “Onorder” or they have been supplied and now “Linked”; or “Not Applicable”or “Not being supplied”. The Vendor's Lawyer has the discretion whetherto order or provide a property certificate or not provide it as there isa cost to providing any property certificate. The Vendor's Lawyer mayexercise that discretion not to provide a property certificate formonetary reasons or simply considers it does not add any value inproviding that particular property certificate. The Vendors Lawyer mayelect to publish all or any of the Property Information or not publishat this stage giving the Vendors Lawyer control over what the public andProspects may view on the 247 Website 162.

The Public can also see the checklist status knowing that if anydocument that is not published then whether that document will beprovided but is simply not yet available.

The Property Information Documents may be tagged “Publish’; or “Do NotPublish” which gives control over what will be published on the 247Website 162 for the public and Prospects to access. The Vendors Lawyeris responsible to see that the Property Information 151-154 is in order.The first step is to upload the Property Information 151-154 onto theProperty Database 161. The Vendor's Lawyer needs to then check that theContract Documents are in order and is satisfied they are ready to bepublished for public and Prospects to view. There can be costlyramifications for any documents being inaccurate.

The Prospect viewing the webpage on the 247 Website 162 can view theProperty Information Documents that are published and links are providedto view individual Property Information 151-154 documents. They willalso be able to view a Checklist of documents that are “On Order” or“Not being supplied” or “Not Applicable”. This gives anyone viewing thewebpage on the 247 Website 162 an immediate indication of the type anddetails of the information available from the 247 Website 162.

As the Vendor's Lawyer receives the Contract Documents these documentscan be inserted and uploaded (FIG. 6) into the Property Database 161.The system being dynamic the Prospects and the Agent can view and printthe available Property Information 151-154 documents and the status ofall Property Information 151-154 documents.

The Property Page when viewed on the webpage on the 247 Website 162 maytypically have the following information:

-   -   Property description or address    -   Photograph of the property    -   Agent logo with link back to Agent's website    -   Vendor Lawyer's Logo with link back to Vendor Lawyer's website    -   Summary of Property    -   Links to individual to Contract Documents viewable in PDF format    -   Links to individual Property Information each viewable in PDF        format    -   Links to individual Vendor Legal Documents each viewable in PDF        format    -   Checklist of documents not yet supplied but to be supplied or        simply Not Applicable    -   Disclaimer or Warning which typically could read as “Until all        certificates are uploaded and the Vendor has signed the Section        32 Statement these documents are for information only. We        suggest that you seek independent legal advice before signing a        contract of sale.”

The Agent, also, has the option of ordering a set of PropertyInformation (161)-(154) which 247legal.com.au can provide as a bureauservice and these too will be published on the 247 Website 162 (referFIG. 5) which is the MiniPak embodiment.

Part of the Agent's role as selling Agent for the Vendor is to orderphotographs of the Property and to create a Property webpage on theirown website. The Agent will be able to upload the photographs orThumbnails (112) of the Property to be inserted and uploaded onto theProperty Database 161.

As soon as the Vendor's Lawyer has added a Property and its details intothe Property Database 161, the 247 Website 162 will email the Agent witha hyperlink 114 to be inserted Into the Agent's own webpage of theProperty linked back to the 247 Website 162 and this will launch/createthe correct Property page.

The Agent will have ready access to the Title, the Plan, the PropertyInformation 151-154 and Contract Documents. The Agent can view, downloadand print all or any of the Property Information 151-154 documents. TheAgent can direct Prospects to the Agent's own website and the Prospectfollows the hyperlinks to the 247 Website 162 to view the PropertyInformation 151-154 documents. Or the Agent can simply print a copy ofthe Property Information Property Information 151-154 documents and givethem direct to the Prospect.

The Agent no longer has to wait for the Vendor's Lawyer to supply theProperty-Information 151-164 documents. As soon as the Vendor's Lawyerhas uploaded all or any of the Property Information 151-154 documentsthey are ready for viewing—24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Prospect has equal access to the Property Information 151-154documents as any other party. As soon as the Lawyer has uploaded theProperty Information 151-154 documents Into the Property Database 161any person and that includes the Prospect can view all or any of theProperty Information 151-154 documents.

However, In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, before the Prospect canview the Property Information 151-154 documents, the Prospect has tocomplete the Guestbook 132 residing either in the Agent's website or Inthe 247 Website 162. For the Agent one of the key indicators that aProspect has more than a passing Interest in a Property is when theProspect requests to view the Property Information 151-154, if PropertyInformation 151-154 is able to be viewed by the Prospect online, theProspect need not Interact with the Agent. It is important for the AgentInteract with the Agent to obtain Information from the Prospects, suchas personal contact details, opinions on the property and so forth. Thiscan be achieved to an extent by the Prospect completing the Guestbook132 as a prerequisite to accessing the Property-information 151-154 onthe 247 Website 162. When the Prospect views the Property on the Agent'swebsite, they can click on the hyperlink to access the PropertyInformation 151-154, and the Prospect will have to complete theGuestbook as a prerequisite. FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart which isrelatively self explanatory regarding the steps taken for a Prospect tocomplete the guest book and thereby access the Property Information151-154.

Typically the Prospect will give their name, email address, contactdetails, reason for accessing the Property Information 151-154 (simplecheckbox—new home, investment, Agent, Lawyer) and comment. Thisinformation is given back to the Agent for following up the Prospect.This is important to the Agent because when the Prospect makes a requestof an Agent to access Property Information 151-154 documents the Agentknew the Prospect had more than a passing interest in the Property.

The Prospect can complete their due diligence in a timely fashion. TheProspect is in the position then to make a decision to make an offer orto bid at an auction.

There is potentially a lot of upside in the process being conducted inaccordance with the present invention. It also reduces the generation ofpaper copies of Property Information 151-154 which can now simply beviewed online via any personal computer with access to the Internet.

Other embodiments contemplated include:

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified embodiment of FIG. 3. In thisembodiment, 247legal 160 acts as a bureau rather than as the manager ofthe Property Database 161. The Agent or person requiring access PropertyInformation 151-154 approaches 247legal 160 requesting the PropertyInformation 161-154 documents are obtained on their behalf forpublication on a website. 247legal 160 then obtains Property Information151-154 directly from Information Providers 150, and upon receiptuploads the Property Information 151-154 onto the Property Database 161.The accessing of the Documents is as per FIG. 3.

Decentralized—The Agent or Vendor's Lawyer will obtain, the PropertyInformation 151 from Information Providers 150 and will upload theProperty Information 151 onto their own websites for public Inspectionalongside general information supplied by the Vendor converted Into anelectronic format such as PDF and manually uploaded onto the Agent orVendor's Lawyer's website as well as contractual information created bythe Vendor's Lawyer converted into an electronic format such as PDF anduploaded onto the Agent or Vendor's Lawyer's website.

Centralized—where 247legal 160 that acts on behalf of Agents andVendor's Lawyers as a bureau, and this is described more fully below.

Phase 2—Detail

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment as described above, and FIG. 6illustrates a further example of this. The present invention willprovide and maintain a dynamic web database management system (DBMS),using a database for publication of property and contractual informationsourced from: (a) suppliers of government Information, includingInformation Providers, being Property Information 151-154 (b) Vendors ofproperty or via Agents 110 or Lawyers 120 with those documents convertedinto electronic format; and (c) Vendor's Lawyers 120 being thecontractual documentation converted into electronic format. The Vendor'sLawyer will have access to the Property Database 161 (hosted by 247legal160 with password protection) with ability to view, add and update theproperty and contractual documentation with control to publish any orall that information to the Property Database 161 for public viewing viatheir Internet browser.

The Vendors Lawyer 120 is the “custodian” of the information that isinserted into the databases represented by boxes 172, 173, 174, and 175(and that information is detailed below the respective boxes 172, 173,174 and 175). Vendors Lawyer 120 has the ability to add, view, delete orchange any of the information contained in the database. Agent 110 hasthe responsibility to add, view, delete or change the information in thedatabase represented by the information underneath box 171 of FIG. 6.The Public 130 will have access to all property and contractualdocumentation published on the 247 Website 162 either by link fromAgent's website 115 or directly from 247 Website 162.

The present invention is a pre-Contractual tool to assist the Legal andReal Estate industry. All parties may benefit from the PropertyInformation 151-154 and Contract Documents being, published on theInternet so any of the parties can view the documents as they areavailable. The system encourages the Vendor's Lawyer to have theProperty Information 161-154 published at the concurrent time the Agenthas the Property published on the Agent's website.

The System may be enhanced to generate paper copies of the Contract ofSale, the Vendors Statement and any other Contractual Documentation.That is, utilize the information loaded into the Property Database 161to generate such documents. This also extends to the system orderingProperty Information 151-154 from the information Providers 150 based onthe information loaded onto the Property Database 161.

The present Invention may provide a more efficient way of supplyingpaper copies of the Contract of Sale, the Vendors Statement and anyother Contractual Documentation to the Vendor's Lawyer and Agent.Typically for an auction the Agent requires five copies of theabovementioned documents which forms the Contract Documents. If all theContract Documents have been published on the Property Database 161,247legal 160 can provide a bureau print service and deliver bound copiesof the abovementioned documents to the Agent and additional copes to theVendor's Lawyer in preparation for the auction of the Property.

The DMS is considered a sound foundation for pre-contractual disclosureand dissemination of the public Information held by government andstatutory authorities relating to any Property in a timely and dynamicmanner.

What is referred to as DMS is described as follows:

Online Document Management System (DMS)

Property Contracts are a compilation of legal and Property Informationof a disparate rare from a disparate number of sources. One feature isto have a single repository of all those legal documents, converted intoa common document formatting base, such as Adobe Acrobat PDF, and thento have them sorted, with the ability to enter and merge data into thedocuments as required using the function such as that of Adobe AcrobatFDF, to download and to print such documents.

Within the DMS, is the use of software to automatically convert ContractDocuments and Property Information 151-154, 121-125 and 102-106 into PDFformat when they are uploaded into the DMS if they are already not inPDF format

Such software will be used:

-   -   1. if a PDF document is uploaded will check that all security        features are disabled (if security features have been enabled an        error message will be created).    -   2. if a Word document (*.doc), or Image file such as jpeg, TIFF        or any number of file formats is uploaded, the document or image        will be automatically converted into a PDF.    -   3. If any PDF that is uploaded or converted to PDF format and is        larger than, for example, 1 Mb a message will be given warning        that this is a large file and will affect download speeds for        viewing.        DMS Elements

There are several elements to the DMS being.

-   -   1. Upload data    -   2. Identifying the documents    -   3. Identify the source of the documents    -   4. Collation—Preparing the documents    -   5. Sort & Merge    -   6. Publishing and Certification using digital signatures.    -   7. Print Solutions    -   8. Use of Libraries and, Templates which are more ostensibly        elaborated below        1-Upload Data

To effect the sale and recording of changes in title to real estate,most Conveyancers or Lawyers use, as a tool, legal software on theirpersonal computer that is a combination of a database with a form mergefunction, usually but limited to, Microsoft Word, to prepare contractualand other documentation for printing and collating.

The data that is residing within the Lawyer or Conveyancer legalsoftware can be uploaded into the DMS by use of API (ApplicationProgramming Interface) software and an Internet connection.

The Vendor's Lawyer or Conveyancer logs onto the DMS, searches for theparticular Property Profile of interest and can edit the data by adding,deleting or changing.

2—Identify Documents

The next task is to identify what documents will be included in thefinal Contract. This can be achieved by either

-   -   1. individually selecting the documents from the DMS that will        form a part of the final Contract    -   2. using a template, either determined by the Lawyer or        Conveyancer or else pre-determined by the DMS administrator, in        the DMS which has the contractual documentation already        pre-selected.    -   3. Use of templates in the DMS will considerably speed up the        task of identifying documents. For example, the Lawyer or        Conveyancer may have a template called “Industrial”. When they        select that template from the list, the required tick boxes are        ticked for documents that are required for industrial        properties.

Templates can be set up for residential auctions, residential privatesates, residential land, residential new houses, residential apartmentsand flats, residential off the plan apartments, residential house &land. The same applies for commercial, Industrial, rural, projectmarketing etc

3—Identify the Source of the Documents

The third task is to identify the source of the individual documents onthe DMS Property Page. The source of the documents can be one or acombination—

-   -   1. upload,    -   2. DMS library of standard documents,    -   3. personal library,    -   4. online ordering of certificates    -   5. tailored FDF/PDF forms        4—Collating the Documents

Having Identified the list of documents and their source on the DMSProperty Page, the Vendor's Lawyer or Conveyancer is now ready toprepare the documents. The Vendors Lawyer or Conveyancer may use acombination of uploaded documents, library documents, FDF forms andonline certificate ordering to complete the task of collation of thedocuments. As each document task is completed the document may behighlighted by a hyperlink and in that way it is dearly visible to theuser that the document has been completed. Property information 151-154ordered online may give details of when the particular PropertyInformation 151-154 was ordered and date it was delivered.

5—Sort and Merge

The Vendor's Lawyer or Conveyancer needs to set the sort order for thedocuments in which they will be collated for the final Print version ofthe Contract.

The full suite of contact documents and certificates may be listed and aprint version of the merged Contract may also seen with all theindividual contract documents and certificates merged into a single PDFat a given Internet address, for example. The merged document,preferably:

-   -   is a compilation of all the individual contract documents and        certificates;    -   that have been sorted into a specific order,    -   each document has been checked to ensure all security features        are disabled;    -   FDF data forms has had the embedded data stamped into the form;    -   FDF data forms such as the Particulars of Sale page retains        blank fields that need to remain Interactive, such as Purchaser,        Price, Deposit Contract Date and Settlement Date.    -   Front page of the Contract has 3 or more signature fields for        Vendor's Lawyer or Conveyancer, Agent and Purchaser's Lawyer        Conveyancer to be able to endorse the Contract with their        digital signatures;    -   Merged Into a single PDF document in the specified or default        sort order;    -   The document is annotated with a header or tooter including page        numbering, author or other information;    -   The document is then approved for publication by the party        responsible;        6—Publishing and Digital Signatures

Once approved the Vendors Lawyer or Conveyancer applies their digitalsignature thereby certifying the Contract as being one that is approvedfor final execution by the vendor and Prospect. The system will alsoapply certain security features such as “no changes allowed”. “Viewonly”—“no printing”. The Print Version of the Contract is then availablefor download by the Agent or the Prospect's Lawyer or Conveyancer.

The print version of the Contract generally will not be available forviewing by the general public. This may be a function that is enabled atthe discretion of the Conveyancer or the Agent.

The digital signature is a form of identification of the Lawyer orConveyancer of either the Prospect or the Vendor in an electronic formwhich can be created by computer software such as Adobe. Other suitabletechnologies may be used alternatively or in a complimentary manner. Adigital trust service may have a storehouse or repository of digitalsignatures for use by the Lawyer or Conveyancer of either the Prospector the Vendor and the Agent. The digital trust service, such asVerisign, will issue, a unique digital signature such parties. Thedigital signature may be applied using Internet server technology byendorsing the document that resides on the DMS Having a digital trustservice, such as Verisign, issue the digital signatures means that anythird party, when viewing the digitally certified merged Contract canverify any digital signature is valid by double-clicking the signaturefield. As long as that party has a live internet connection thesignature can be verified by Verisign as a valid or invalid signature.

7—Print Solutions

The merged Contract may be converted to a paper contract or even copiedonto a computer storage disc, such as a floppy disk, CD or DVD. In mostinstances it is the Agent member that will want to download the contractfor printing. When the Agent clicks on the merged Contract to downloadit:

-   -   a pop up message will appear    -   the message will contain information about the document    -   giving details on the number of pages and the size of the        documents    -   give warning that the document is a large document    -   give the Agent an option that they can order a paper copy of the        contract    -   if they wish to order paper copies, they will be advised the        cost of the Print Service and that the print service will be        provided by the nearest Printer in their local area for        collection or delivery;    -   they may simply proceed to download the file for saving to their        hard drive and printing using their own resources.        Templates & Libraries

Use of templates and libraries of precedents will streamline the tasksdescribed above. It is contemplated that the Lawyer or Conveyancer willstart using the generic DMS libraries of templates and libraries. Thesetemplates can be modified and saved as personal templates. The same mayapply to the use of library precedents. Personal libraries may be usedby Lawyers or Conveyancers to store their own version of any contractualdocument for future use and incorporate these into the templates.Lawyers or Conveyancers may upload their own unique documents which willbe saved to their library and assign a name to that document. Lawyer orConveyancer may choose to use their own version of Special Conditions orGuarantees etc.

If the member wants to have a unique version of any FDF form,instructions may be given to the DMS administrator to create or generatethat particular form.

Phase 3—Detail

The present invention may be enhanced at later stages to complement apost-contractual recording of changes of interests in real estate on theRegister of Titles, by electronic means, such as that proposed by ECV,an example of which is represented schematically in FIG. 2. However,this prior art system is partially, if not primarily, paper based. Thus,there is a need for representatives of all parties to a change ofinterest in real estate physically meet to effect settlement. This hasobvious costs, and timing difficulties.

The Electronic Conveyancing Process—ECLX

There are three components to the electronic conveyancing process (EC)

-   -   247legal    -   Verification    -   ECLX

247legal is the “front end” for the on-line compilation and publicationof legal and property information up to and including the signing of acontract of sale of real estate. An example is disclosed above In Phase1 and/or Phase 2. ECLX is the proposed Victorian State Government body,responsible for the effecting of a system of electronic onlinesettlement, transfer of the and government tax/levy payments, which itproposes to do by receiving, from Vendors and Purchasers of interests inreal estate in Victoria, in electronic “data packets”, the informationrequired to effect the recordal of a change of ownership of realproperty in Victoria. ECLX is apart of the Victorian titles Office,which maintains a register of ownership and interests in land inVictoria which guarantees indefeasibility of title to those recorded onthe register with interests in real estate in Victoria, allowing thosewho deal with parties recorded on the register in respect of the realestate in question to assume that such recorded interests areindisputable. Consequently, ECLX is most concerned with the accuracy ofthe “data packets” and their authenticity.

The Verification adds a further layer of authentication of the datapacket that is received by ECLX. The Verification also deals withdigitally signed PDF contracts.

247Legal—the Front End.

247legal is a commercial Internet-online publisher and compiler of legaland property information acting independent of governmentalpost-contractual electronic register maintenance systems such as thatproposed by ECLX as EC.

As a publisher, 247legal does not provide guarantees for the propertydetails and legal and property information published on its database.Disclaimers are made as to the accuracy of the information published,and that anyone intending to purchase a property must seek their ownindependent legal advice and due their own due diligence in makingenquiries as to real estate up for sale which they are interested inacquiring.

ECLX—the Back End

The Victorian Land Titles Office maintains a register of interests inreal in Victoria whose title is determined by state governmentlegislation. Its charter is essentially the Transfer of Land Act 1958,and reference can be made to that document as well as the Transfer ofLand (Electronic Transactions) Bill 2004 which is proposed law dealingwith the process of effecting transfers of interests in land, and therecording of such changes on the register, by electronic means.

The Register

Presently all transactions with land dealings are paper based, althoughthe Register is now essentially an electronic database of data andImages. Data is mostly composed of the information that is contained onthe certificate of title Volume & Folio Land Titles Office IdentifierLand Description Lot and Plan No. Registered Proprietor Owner, address,manner of holding Encumbrances, Caveats & Notices Mortgage CovenantCaveats Statutory Notices Other Registered Interests Diagram LocationReference to Imaged Plan Dealings in last 105 days Unregistered dealings

The two most common dealings recorded on Register are

-   -   1. Sale and Purchase of real estate, Discharge of Mortgage (if        Vendor's real estate was subject to one) and recordal of a New        Mortgage (if the Purchaser has borrowed from a Financial        Institution to acquire the real estate fin the Vendor)    -   2. Discharge of Mortgage held by a Financial Institution in real        estate by the owner of that real estate and the subsequent        entering into of a of New Mortgage pursuant to a refinancing        arrangement entered Into by the owner of real estate with an        alternate Financial Institution.

The first is the normal purchase and sale real estate, and involves notinconsiderable effort to prepare the documentation and effect thetransaction by all parties involved, their representatives and theVictorian Titles Office, including an agency agreement between theVendor and the Agent, preparation of Contract Documentation by theVendors Lawyer, preparation of loan agreements between the Purchaser anda Financial Institution (if financing from a Financial Institution isrequired by the Purchaser to acquire the real estate), and finallyrecording of the change of interests on the register of the VictorianTitles Office.

The second involves two financial institutions (FI) and the real estateowner. Preparation of contractual documentation for the sale of realestate or for the recording of changes in ownership in real estate isnot required. The Financial Institution holding the current mortgageprovides a discharge of that mortgage and the Financial Institution whothe owner of real estate alternately borrows from, registers an InterestIn a new mortgage pursuant to that loan arrangement it has entered intowith the owner of real estate.

The Victorian Titles Office has not and never been concerned with thefinancial means by which land is bought and sold, with the exceptionthat the consideration (purchase price) has always been denoted on theTransfer. The Register is only concerned with the legal ownership ofreal estate, and the recording of such interests on the register,including the recording of security interests such as mortgages andcaveats as evidence of a charge.

ECLX has been mandated by the Victorian Titles Office to incorporateinto its responsibilities the online effecting of settlements intransfers of interests in real estate along with effecting electronictransfer of the funds used to buy and sell real estate and to effect theentry. Into the register by electronic means changes in ownership ofreal estate and changes of security interests.

Property Data Packets

In one aspect of the invention, a “data packet” is created, inelectronic coded form, the Vendor's information, the PurchasersInformation and the Vendor's mortgagee and the Purchaser's mortgagee'sinformation (if such mortgagees exist). The data packet needs to becertified as true and correct by the Vendor, Purchaser and respectivemortgages (if applicable) and must be authenticated as true and correctby ECLX via confirmation by the aforesaid parties before the data packetis processed to update the register.

The data packet needs to be secure, and authentication of the datapacket by ECLX pursuant to confirmation by the parties to the change ofinterests in real estate, as absolutely accurate and unquestionablerecording of changes of interests in real estate is the highest priorityof the Victorian Titles Office, and consequently, protection of theregister from fraud and error. Land User Identification cards may beused to effect this purpose As published by ECLX on 8 Jul. 2003: “Allparties will be required to enter into an agreement with the LandExchange (LX—program enabling key land transactions to be completed viathe Internet) In order to use the system. Parties using the system mustact in an agency role on behalf of their clients and must comply withthe LX Public Key Infrastructure security arrangements.

The electronic lodgement file (ELF), together with the securityinfrastructure, creates the original instruments as required by LandRegistry. When provided to the Registrar on electronic lodgement, theinformation becomes the searchable and auditable item in case ofdispute. A non-repudiable digital signature is used to provide thisInstrument. There are no paper instruments to be lodged with LandRegistry.

ECLX has inbuilt methodologies of identification to confirm andauthenticate data contained in the data packet that will be processed toupdate the register and to reduce errors and the incidence of fraud, aswill be disclosed in the following text.

The Double Blind—the Verification

The invention can complement the EC system proposed to be introduced byECLX, by the creation of a “double blind”. The invention as disclosedherein can create a Property data packet that has been certified as trueand correct by the Lawyers or Conveyancers who use the invention. Thisproperty data packet can be passed onto ECLX and can be authenticatedusing the current identification controls that have been set up by ECLX.

Thus the “double blind”. The property data packet has been “verified”twice, reducing the incidence of fraud and error. If desired by ECLX,use of the invention to effect the “double blind” may be a condition bywhich Lawyers and Conveyancers may use the ECLX as prescribed by theRegistrar.

Some of the key provisions of concern to ECLX is:

-   -   conditions of access to ECLX (this could be through a front end        system such as 247legal)    -   the Conveyancer is an eligible person (ie a Lawyer or        conveyancer with insurance) if they use the invention they could        be periodically cross matched to the database of the government        instrumentality or private body charged with verifying the        Conveyancer's eligibility to use the ECLX system.    -   the Vendor and Purchaser has authorised their respective Agents        by instrument in writing signed by the Vendor or Purchaser to        execute the electronic instrument (a copy of the appointment        letter can be scanned and uploaded to the DMS and the Victorian        Titles Office could have access to inspect such instruments).    -   refuse to register the Instrument if, in the opinion of the        Registrar, the electronic instrument is incomplete or contains        errors (the double blind reduces the incident of error and        fraud).        Digitally Signed and Certified PDF Contracts

A second advantage of the invention herein described is the generationof electronic PDF contracts through an online document managementsystem, previously referred to as the DMS.

The invention compiles a single PDF file that comprises the Contract andother Documents required to effect the recording of a change in interestin land.

The compiled PDF Contract can be digitally signed and certified by theVendor's Lawyer. The Lawyer may be an Adobe digital signature holder. Asthe Contract is interactive, it may be completed online by the Agent andsaved. The Contract may be digitally signed and certified by the Agent.The Purchaser's Lawyer, also may endorse the contract as true andcorrect. As many digital signatures may be added to authenticate thecontract as is required. The contract, and its various iterativeversions may be made available at an Internet site, and thus may beavailable for viewing, completion, amendment, and/or authentication byany party.

The paper contract signed by the parties may be held on a file(s). Thepresent invention lends itself to be relied upon by any third partywhether that be a financial institution or the State Revenue Office,Victorian Titles Office, or the Courts, when ascertaining the veracityand authentication of the digitally signed and certified contracts andits contents.

While this invention has been described in connection with specificembodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of furthermodification(s). This application is intended to cover any variationsuses or adaptations of the invention following in general, theprinciples of the invention and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come within known or customary practice within theart to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to theessential features hereinbefore set forth.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit of the essential characteristics of theinvention, it should be understood that the above described embodimentsare not to limit the present invention unless otherwise specified, butrather should be construed broadly within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims. Various modifications andequivalent arrangements are intended to be included within the spiritand scope of the invention and appended claims. Therefore, the specificembodiments are to be understood to be illustrative of the many ways inwhich the principles of the present invention may be practiced. In thefollowing claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverstructures as performing the defined function and not only structuralequivalents, but also equivalent structures. For example, although anail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nailemploys a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas ascrew employs a helical surface to secure wooden parts together, in theenvironment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw are equivalentstructures.

1. A method of making available information, including documents,relating to the legal and/or real estate industries for viewing and/orprinting via the Internet, the method including the steps of: obtaininginformation relating to a property in an electronic format, providingthe information at a first location, providing a hyperlink for theinformation between the first location and a second location, whereinthe first location is a database or host website and the second locationis an Agent's website.
 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, furtherincluding the step of providing a hyperlink to property information,such as a thumbnail or property photograph.
 3. A method as claimed inclaim 1, further including the step of providing a hyperlink betweenproperty information, such as a thumbnail or property photograph, andassociated information.
 4. A method of uploading information, includingdocuments, relating to the real estate or legal industries to adatabase, the method including the step of: assigning at least oneunique code to each information, where the at least one code identifiesany one or a combination of the property, the Agent the type of propertyinformation.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the code is anInternet meta-tag or meta data.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 4,wherein the tag enables the information to be displayed in apredetermined order.
 7. A method of generating a webpage relating to thelegal or real estate industries, the method including the steps of:providing property information, providing Agent information, andproviding a reference to at least one property document.
 8. A method ofgenerating a webpage as claimed in claim 7, further including the stepof, when a property profile including Agent details is added, generatinga unique hyperlink to the Agent's website.
 9. A method as claimed inclaim 8, further including the step of generating an email to the Agentnotifying the Agent of the hyperlink generated.
 10. A method of editinglegal or real estate information, the method including the steps of:providing the information as claimed in claim 1, in a first PDF form,inputting data to a data processing system, and using FDF technology toimport the data into the first PDF form to create a second PDF form. 11.A method as claimed in claim 10, further including the step of:providing digital verification to the second PDF form.
 12. A method asclaimed in claim 1 further including the step of publishing theinformation with authorisation.
 13. Apparatus adapted to make availableand/or upload information, including documents, relating to the legaland/or real estate industries for viewing, printing and/or editing viathe Internet, said apparatus including: processor means adapted tooperate in accordance with a predetermined instruction set, saidapparatus, in conjunction with said instruction set, being adapted toperform the method as claimed in claim
 1. 14. A computer program productincluding: a computer usable medium having computer readable programcode and computer readable system code embodied on said medium formaking available and/or upload information relating to the legal and/orreal estate industries within a data processing system, said computerprogram product including: computer readable code within said computerusable medium for performing the method as claimed in claim
 1. 15. Awebpage relating to the legal or real estate industries, the webpageincluding: property information, Agent information, and reference to atleast one property document.
 16. A webpage as claimed in claim 15,wherein the reference to at least one document is a hyperlink.
 17. Awebpage as claimed in claim 15 wherein the Property Information includecontract documents, Property Information and/or legal documents.
 18. Awebpage as claimed in claim 15, further including a checklist as to theavailability of at least one property document.
 19. A webpage as claimedin claim 15, wherein a status indicator is provided that includesinformation such as whether the document is linked, on order, to besupplied, not being supplied or not applicable.
 20. Apparatus adapted tohost a webpage as claimed in claim
 15. 21. (canceled)
 22. A method ofonline recording of changes of interest in land or real estate,including a method as claimed in claim
 1. 23. A method of online paymentof government imposed levies or taxes, in combination with a method asclaimed in claim
 1. 24. (canceled)
 25. (canceled)
 26. (canceled) 27.(canceled)